Why we're different (part 1).

The second most popular question with regards to our upcoming church plant is "What makes you stand out, or be any different from other churches in Cochrane?" Our answer...we're reformed. What in the world does THAT mean? We follow the 1689 London Baptist Confession (as I've been posting the odd blog about in the recent past) except for two minor points. You can find a copy of the confession here. Our theology largely falls upon the 5 Sola's (as our ministry name may indicate). The first is Sola Scritura, which means The Holy Bible is the standard of which everything else is held up to. We do not put our trust and faith in tradition, or experience, but in the Word of God. If our experiences or traditions do not line up with what scripture says, it is dismissed. We hold the Bible in the highest regards and standard above all else when it comes to worshiping and understanding God and creation (including man).

Solas Christus is the second of the Sola's, which means by Christ alone we are saved. Unlike the modern-day thought of "there are many roads to God", we hold fast to the fact that it is by Jesus Christ ONLY that we are saved, and that there is NO other. Those that follow Buddha, Mohammad, Ghandi, Joseph Smith, or any other are lost, and are not disciples of Christ.

Sola Gratia is the third Sola, which means by Grace alone we are saved. Grace is undeserved favour. You cannot earn grace, for if you've earned it, it no longer is defined by grace. God in His goodness, sent His Son to die on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. Grace is a gift from God, and cannot be earned. No one can earn their salvation by works, our works are simply actions which are produced from our obedience and love for God for delivering us out of darkness.

Sola Fide is the fourth Sola, and means that by faith in Christ alone we are justified. We need to remember who we are being saved from. We are not being saved from Satan, we are not being saved from ourselves, we are being saved from the wrath of God Himself. By faith in Christ, we are declared righteous before God, for our punishment was put upon Jesus. We cannot have just a 'head knowledge' of Christ, but we must have faith. Our faith is also a gift from God, and cannot be earned.

Soli Deo Gloria is that last of the Solas, which means 'for the glory of God alone'. We exist, we are saved, we live for the glory of God. God lives for the glory of God, and not man. The history of the people, creation, everything...is for the glory of God. Fallen man glorifies himself, even redeemed man all too often glorifies himself. Our church services can fall into putting too much emphasis on ourselves and not enough on Christ. Everything we do is to glorify Him. God is sovereign and His will will be done, and it is all to His own glory.

For further questions regarding these or anything from the Confession, please feel free to ask or attend one of our upcoming informational events.

Church Plant Announcement

Not that we were ever trying to hide the fact we were moving toward a church plant, but we have been wanting to keep it relatively under-wraps until our paperwork with the CNBC and our church body was made aware of our desire to plant a church. Well, as of today, both of those things have been accomplished, so we feel now is the time to announce that there is a new church start in Cochrane, AB beginning September 11, 2011. We are called Hill Country Reformed Baptist Church. Our services will be held at the Spray Lakes Sawmills Recreation Centre in the Multi-purpose room on Sunday mornings from 10:30-12:00pm. To those that I have discussed the church plant with, the most popular question has been "What makes you think Cochrane needs another church?" That's a great question. Cochrane is now approximately 17 000 people and growing every year. There are a few traditional ecclesiastical churches in town, but relatively few evangelical churches. We are evangelical, and proud to be so, even though the word 'evangelical' carries with it connotations that we at Hill Country Reformed Baptist Church hope to change. In too many circles in Canada, the word evangelical brings with it an attitude of superiority and arrogance. I don't believe this is always a fair assessment, but in some cases it is. We will endeavor to not be or act arrogant in any regard, as salvation is of the Lord, and not by our works (Ephesians 2:9, Jonah 2:9).

In the coming weeks we will be having formal information sessions to help people better understand what sets us apart from other churches in the area (the next popular question). In the meantime, you can reach us at hillcountryreformed@gmail.com. We welcome your questions and look forward to giving praise to our God with those who call themselves Christian.

1689 Confession - The Bible (part 3)

1. The Scripture is self-authenticating. Its authority does not depend upon the testimony of any man or church, but entirely upon God, its author, who is truth itself. It is to be received because it is the Word of God.

1Thess 2:13; 2Tim 3:16; 2Pet 1:19-21; 1John 5:9.

You don't have to look long or hard to find those that believe that the Bible is nothing more than man-written, women-bashing garbage that does not speak for God (if there is one) nor is it profitable for any purpose. Just so I can save you time, here and here are a couple of prime examples. Then there are others that believe much of the bible is allegory, a book of life-lessons so to speak. But what does the bible say? As the scriptures above mention, the bible is self-authenticating. Why is this important? Because if it did not in any way call itself the Word of God, then why would we believe it to be so? Does this mean that other writings that claim to be Holy Scripture should be accepted as such? No. That's not the final determination that we use to understand what is scripture and what is not, but it's a starting point. As mentioned in the last blog, a couple of books that did not make it into the bible were due to the fact that the authors themselves claimed they were not inspired.

So is there a way that we can see if scripture really is the Word of God? The prophet Isaiah tells us in chapter 46:10 that God says "declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose," meaning that we can trust in God because He has declared many things that has/will come to pass. There have been numerous prophesies about the life and death of Christ alone that all came true, of which Christ Himself had no control over (born in Bethlehem, grew up in Nazareth, to name two.) God provides us with future prophesies that become fulfilled so that we can trust that those prophesies that remain will come true. God does not have to prove Himself to anyone (although He has), in order for the truth claims of the Bible to be true, much like I don't have to stand in Africa to know Africa is a real place. God's Word and Work is His whether we want to believe it or not. This reminds me of a book title by Ray Comfort that says "God Doesn't Believe in Atheists". Just because we don't believe something doesn't make it any less real. The fact that there are many people out there today that deny the truth claims of the Bible will not abdicate them of their responsibilities written in the Bible on the Day of Judgement.

1689 Confession - The Apocrypha (part 2)

1. The books commonly called the Apocrypha were not given by divine inspiration and are not part of the canon or rule of Scripture. Therefore they do not possess any authority in the church of God, and are to be regarded and used in the same way as other writings of men.

Luke 24:27,44; Rom 3:2.

We have a bible that we believe is the inspired, inerrant Word of God. One of the few problems with this claim is that two Christian groups (Roman Catholics and Protestants) have different bibles. This leads sinful men (and women) to use this as an excuse to throw out the truth claims of the Holy Scripture. I'm sure most would find another reason even if this wasn't the case, but seeing how it's readily available, they use it. In this post I will reflect on the Apocrypha and the recognition of the Scriptures.

Bible is a collection of books, not a single volume. It contains 66 separate books or letters (Protestant bible), and has many authors over many hundreds of years. 2 Timothy 3:16 states that all scripture is God-breathed, meaning He is the ultimate author, and that there is nothing of scripture that He was not the author of. In the early church, there came to be false-teachers known as Gnostics that believed that God in the OT was a demigod that enslaved humanity and was generally a mean-spirited god, but Jesus was the High God, the "kind" God that would save humanity from the demigod of the OT. One of the followers of the Gnostic movement was a man named Marcion who was influential in the early church. He created the first collection of books for his "bible" that supported the gnostic teachings. He eliminated all of the OT, the book of Matthew, many individual scriptures of Luke, and any other scripture that didn't line up with the gnostic teaching. This lead the early church leaders to gather as synods to recognize the actual books of the bible. In 397 A.D. the 3rd Council of Carthage declared the official collection of inspired works.

By what criterion did the Bible get put together?

Almost every book in the NT was recognized universally by the early church. There were questions raised about Jude, 2 Peter, 1-3 John and Hebrews. The test criteria was as follows: 1) was it written or endorsed by an apostle? 2) was it received by the church from the beginning? 3) Does this book conform to the teachings that are universally recognized as scripture? All of the books mentioned met all three criteria, and were accepted as canon.

Some scholars believe that there were 2000 separate books considered by the synods, of which only 27 were in the NT. Only 2-3 books were given the slightest look: 1 Clement and Shepherd of Hermas being two of them. They disqualified themselves by the very authors that wrote them. The others were Gnostic frauds which were recognized and dismissed quickly.

So how did the Apocryphal books get in there? First we need to understand that the apocrypha was mostly written between the OT and NT writings. While valuable as history, there are some significant problems with both the theology and the history. The Jews never recognized the writings as scriptural as they were not written in Hebrew (as all other OT scriptures were written) but Greek and Latin. The Jews even went so far as to destroy copies of the apocrypha after 70 A.D. The church rejected them because they were not written by apostles nor endorsed by them, and they taught things which were in direct contradiction with teachings that were recognized. However, the Roman Catholic church recognized them officially at the Council of Trent (1546) after Luther and the Reformers officially rejected them. The books of the apocrypha do teach doctrine that the Roman Catholics hold dear to their traditions, namely purgatory, works, and immaculate conception, all of which is not taught elsewhere or is in direct contradiction to other scripture.

Roman Catholics believe that because the church is infallible, it's collecting and recognition of the scriptures is also infallible. An infallible collection of infallible books if you will. The Reformers however, believe that the church is fallible, but they have done their due-diligence in the collecting of the infallible books, a fallible collection of infallible books.

Why is this important? If we're understanding scripture to be the Word of God, and that we understand our theology, our worldview, our faith and obedience from this collection of books, we'd better be sure we have the right ones. I believe our 66 books are the right ones, and that any other writings which claim to be inspired but do not meet the standards of scripture should be written off as fraudulent at best, and works of Satan at worst.

1689 Confession of the Holy Scriptures (part 1)

There are many different views of the Bible today. The Baptist tradition has long had a very high opinion on the Holiness and sufficiency of the scriptures. One of the best confessions I have read regarding this topic is from the 1689 London Baptist Confession. Below is the modern-day reading of the Queen's English from 1689 by Carey Publications, 1975. It reads:

1. The Holy Scripture is the all-sufficient, certain and infallible rule or standard of the knowledge, faith and obedience that constitute salvation. Although the light of nature, and God's works of creation and providence, give such clear testimony to His goodness, wisdom and power that men who spurn them are left inexcusable, yet they are not sufficient of themselves to give that knowledge of God and His will which is necessary for salvation. In consequence the merciful Lord from time to time and in a variety of ways has revealed Himself, and made known His will to His church. And furthermore, in order to ensure the preservation and propagation of the truth, and the establishment and comfort of the church against the corrupt nature of man and the malice of Satan and the world, He caused this revelation of Himself and His will to be written down in all its fullness. And as the manner in which God formerly revealed His will has long ceased, the Holy Scripture becomes absolutely essential to men.

Pss 19:1-3; Prov 22:19-21; Isa 8:20; Luke 16:29,31; Rom 1:19-21, 2:14-15, 15:4; Eph 2:20; 2Tim 3:15-17; Heb 1:1; 2Pet 1:19-20.

My favourite part of this beginning confession is the first sentence. Holy Scripture is all-sufficient for knowledge, faith and obedience. As a minister of the Word, I do my best to encourage others to open their Bibles and read from the Holy Scriptures every day, for this is how we gain knowledge to fight heresy and recognize wolves amongst the flock, to recognize and know the things of God, to follow in obedience and to encourage us in our faith. There are far too many of us that get caught up reading all sorts of devotions, theologies, books and novels that talk much about God, but none of these take the place of reading God's direct revelation TO us! Study of scriptures is important, reading the great theologians and preachers of both past and present is good, but if we're spending the majority of our time reading them and not reading the Scriptures, we are missing the greatest teachings of all, for our Great Councilor is the Holy Spirit. The bible does not NEED to be supplemented by anything else as it is sufficient all on its own. This is why there is no need for further revelation from modern-day prophets or Pope's. We have a direct link to God through faith in His Son who has been revealed in time and space and has been documented through the Saints via Holy Scripture. In our Bibles, we have the fullness of God's revealed nature and salvific plan.

Open the scriptures, and feed on the Word.

The Final Countdown!

If I weren't so technologically challenged, I would have been able to put Europe's "The Final Countdown" video here, but seeing how I can't figure it out, I'll just post a link here. Today is the day that the rapture is to happen according to Harold Camping. Using advanced math (he messed up the first time he guessed the date of Jesus' return) Camping has figured out that the rapture will happen today at 6:00pm local time (yes, in every time zone). This bothers me on a number of levels.

Matthew 24:36 states that "“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only." Jesus continues to preach about His return in verse 42 where He states again "Therefore be alert, since you don’t know what day your Lord is coming." Camping must feel that he has something on Christ, for Jesus said Himself that He didn't know the time of His return, only the Father knows. This is not ministry, this is not evangelism, this is egotistical nonsense. Does anyone want to harbour a guess as to what His excuse is going to be this time when Christ again doesn't return on Camping's schedule? My guess...poor math. It worked once, it will do again.

The bigger issue I have is that Camping, in the minds of those that already scoff at Christianity, paint us all with the same paintbrush. We're all labelled crazy. How is this supposed to help people see Christ? I don't dismiss the idea of preaching Christ's return, He will return, but to speak against scripture regarding this topic (Camping is not the first to pull this stunt, and unfortunately won't be the last) of knowing the time and date of His return is further damaging our witness to the lost world. Some of Camping's "followers" have left loved ones, jobs, bills, pets, etc. to wait for Christ's return. How do these people pick up the pieces of their lives when they are still here at 6:01pm? Maybe they won't have a problem. 2 Timothy 4:3 states "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,". I guess they could always go back and try again; only to make a fool of themselves and our faith by proxy in the meantime.

Live your life today as you should everyday. Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbour as yourselves. He will return, but I'm guessing it's not today.

Gates of Hades (God's sovereignty part IV)

I often wonder how Christians that believe in the Arminian perspective can sleep at night. I would be scared to death about losing my salvation. If I can choose God, I can also unchoose God. How do I know I won't wake up in the morning and declare myself an atheist, or a Buddist, or Muslim or something else? If maintaining my belief in Christ is up to me, I'm in serious trouble. However, if God is the One that saves and chooses me, I can rest assured every night that I will wake up in the morning, love God, live for God, and follow Him each and every day; even the days that I don't feel like it. There is an expression that goes something like "Preach like an Arminian, sleep like a Calvinist." There is something to this. God calls all to repent, even though only those that are His will respond. Those that are His need not worry about their salvation because it is by God's strength we are saved and perservere, not our own.

John 10:27-28 states "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they know me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand." If we understand that the church is made up of His sheep, then we can also see Matthew 16:18 that states "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." But what do we do with those people that we all know that have wandered away from the faith, never to return? 1 John 2:19 gives us the explanation. It states "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they were of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they are all not of us."

It would be silly and anti-biblical of us to think that all those that call themselves Christian and attend our churches are His sheep. Jesus says in many different scriptures that not all those that call themselves His are actually His. This is one of the most important reasons to exposit the scriptures from the pulpit verse-by-verse in order to preach the gospel in its entirety, not leaving anything to chance. We can be led astray by "feel-good, God is love, story-upon-story" preaching that does nothing for the soul, and ultimately leads people into a false-sense of salvation.

God saves, God perseveres, and God receives all the glory.

Eyes wide open (God's sovereignty part 3)

Being a man, I have the inherent tendency to not see that which is directly in front of my face. My wife gets annoyed when she sends me to find something, she even will tell me where it is, and yet a large percentage of the time I come back sheepishly declaring "I can't find it." She'll take me by the hand, lead me to exactly where she said it was, and magically pull whatever it was I was sent to find from the very place she said it was. "But it wasn't there!!!" I would protest. Of course it was, I just didn't see it. As my father used to like to say "It was too close to your face." Often I feel the same way about people that don't see God. He's right in front of their faces, but they can't see Him. Why?

Reformed theology believes that we cannot see God, for we suppress the truth, swallow the lie, and seek not after Him, for we hate Him (Romans 1:21-23, John 15:18). We, in our natural, fallen condition would never choose to follow or love God. It requires a miraculous work of God to change the hearts of His elect, to give them the gift of faith in order for them to choose to follow Christ. God, in His sovereignty has given us the will to choose Him, for we could not choose Him prior to that due to our enslavement to sin. This has been called by some 'irresistible grace'. Some have tried to equate this doctrine with God dragging sinners kicking and screaming into heaven. This of course is categorically wrong. As the picture used above has done, it has confused our stance before and after grace applied. In the poster is the picture of cyborgs. The author of this poster believes that as we are transformed we become cyborgs (of a sort). What he/she has failed to understand is that THAT is our condition BEFORE conversion (a slave to sin), and it is only after regeneration that we become free to choose to follow Christ or to sin (which all people, even after conversion, still struggle with). I have attempted to use parables to describe this phenomenon to unbelievers and I can't do it justice. I cannot describe the overwhelming joy of seeing God for who He is and loving Him for it. Before coming to Christ, I would curse God for His holiness, His law, His goodness. Now, I praise Him for those very things that I had before hated. Before conversion, I couldn't run away fast enough from Him, now I cannot but run to Him. What changed? This is a difficult question to answer from an Arminian perspective, as inevitably they have to admit that they have played a role in choosing and loving God prior to conversion (as opposed to the clear teaching of Paul in Romans 3:9-18). As a reformer, I have no other opinion to offer other than in His saving grace and plan, He saved me, He opened my eyes and gave me faith in order for me to see Him as He is and love Him for it. I played no role in this, for it was His work. His grace is truly irresistible, for I cannot get enough of Him. Thanks be to Him who gave me grace.

Feminism and the plight of the church

The title probably ruffled feathers already. Let me explain.

Have you noticed the general trend of males taking themselves out of "life" in the last couple of generations? Sociologists have given another 'stage of development' to explain (or at least describe) the recent trends of young people (males in particular) that are taking much longer in maturing. They have given this 'new' stage a name, namely Delayed Adolescence. This is generally ascribed to young people, between the ages of 18 and 30 that are still living and acting like a pubescent teenager, still living off of mommy and daddy, playing video games all hours of the waking day, and having trouble holding a job, a career, a girlfriend, or any of the other attributes we would normally ascribe to adult living. I believe there is a biblical explanation for this.

This issue is infecting the church as well as society in general. As usual, rather than our churches being a light to the culture, our churches have been just as culpable as our society. Here's why.

1) Our fallen nature: Right from the beginning, men have shirked the responsibility of leading the home. Eve sinned first, but Adam was held responsible. Where was Adam when Eve was tempted by the serpent? If he was present, he wasn't protecting his bride. If he was absent, he wasn't protecting his bride. Either way, he failed, and was held responsible for the fall. He wasn't doing the job that God set before him, and in a fallen condition, this situation has become worse.

2) Abuses: As part of the curse, God said that the man would rule over the woman, and that the woman would desire her husband. In the Hebrew, this is a desire to rule over her husband. As men are physically stronger and bigger than females, this ruling over the 'weaker' sex was generally easy. However, because of this inherent desire of the woman to rule over the man, she hasn't been the easiest to convince to fall in line. Therefore, men have taken it upon themselves to be tyrants in order to maintain their position of authority. For a few millennia, in most cultures, men have generally dominated over women. This is ungodly behaviour and needed correction (and still does need correction in many cultures in the world today).

3) Rise of Feminist Movement: Man has shown for a long time the proclivity we have for shirking our responsibilities in the home and in life. With the rise of feminism since the 60's, women, in the name of equality, have pushed for an egalitarian society, where gender roles are obliviated. This rise of women in the workforce, in the home, and in the church, has given men every reason to step back and hand over as much responsibility to the women as they want...and more. There is a serious lack of MEN in the western world today, and women, while claiming victory in equality, are bearing the brunt of the victory. Women today are starving for a biblical man, but generally our society is unwilling to recognize the importance of the biblical roles given to us since the fall. Women have taken over the workforce, the education system, and the church.

Most churches today have an attendance record of somewhere between 60-75% women. Men have generally little interest in attending church because the worship, message and 'feel' of the church has become feminized. Today's Jesus is a metro-sexual, golden-haired hippie-boy that most men feel they can beat up. Why would men want to join a church and worship a God that they could 'ground and pound'? They wouldn't, and that's why they don't go.

The most unfortunate aspect of this is that while men are more than happy to step back and let the women run the show, they are most resentful because of it.

God's sovereignty (part 2)

Radical depravity requires God's radical intervention was yesterday's blog. We do not have the ability nor the inclination to follow, choose or trust God due to our natural condition. Without the sovereign work of God, we would remain in our condition (enemies of God) and would be lost. This condition will be expanded upon today, but we need to understand the extent of our depravity in order to understand the sovereignty of God. Today we will be covering how God's sovereignty aligns with another staple of reformed theology, namely unconditional election.

Election is often confused or misrepresented. No matter where you are on the theological pendulum, everyone believes in election; you must, for the bible speaks directly to this topic. The major difference is how we understand the election of God's people. Most Christians today believe that God's election has to do with His omniscience, that He was able to look down the annals of time and see who would choose Him, and thereby elected them, based upon our choosing of Him first. This would put the credit of our salvation on us, not God. People get their collective noses out of joint when I say this, but I have a question for those that believe that God alone gets the credit for salvation, yet claim that we play some role in our salvation. What was it about you, that allowed you to accept the gospel message, while those around you have not accepted the gospel? Ephesians 1:4, 11 make it abundantly clear that we are chosen by Him, for His purposes. God maintains His sovereignty over election, which is why as believers we have NO REASON to boast. Let's think about this. If semi-Pelagianism (there is enough goodness in us to choose Christ) is correct, then don't we have something to boast in? Could we not look down our noses at those around us that have refused to choose Christ with contempt?

I was once accused of being arrogant for believing that God choose me unconditionally. I still can't wrap my head around that one. I fully admit that I had nothing to do with being saved, that it was 100% the work of Christ, and I am simply the beneficiary of grace upon grace. Unconditional election teaches that there was nothing in me that set me apart from anyone else. I am no better or more deserving than anyone else, but in God's grace and mercy, for His purposes, He elected me. Why? I don't have an answer, but I'm sure grateful, which is why I serve my King!

God's sovereignty (part 1)

God's sovereignty is at the root of reformed theology. For those that don't understand what this means (not to belittle anyone, but I do know the odd person who reads this blog aren't "up" on all the lingo) it means that God is in charge of everything. There is nothing that He is either not directly or indirectly in control of. Nothing catches Him by surprise, and all things are in His control. This is different from the view of agnostics that believe God created everything, but he stepped back from creation and doesn't have anything to do with anything going on around us. Then there are those that believe something in between. I cannot logically reconcile that one, for either God is in control, or He's constantly being surprised by those events happening here on Earth and being 'reactionary' to what we do here on earth. It's important to think through this issue as it directly affects how you view the world around you, and your reaction to those happenings.

My Mormon sister once told me that God still has prophets today because God couldn't foresee all of the things that we sinful humans would do. The example she gave was marijuana. "God didn't know we would ever use marijuana in that way, so He had to send prophets to help us create laws against such use." I think anyone that understands the attributes of God can quickly determine the error of this thinking. (To be fair, she could have a misunderstanding of Mormon doctrine, but I don't think so.) God is clearly omniscient (all knowing), omnipotent (all powerful) and omnipresent (not limited by time and space) from our reading of scripture. With these clear attributes, it is impossible for God to not be sovereign. The argument brought forth at this point is the freedom of the will of humanity, and that God leaves us to determine our own lives. This is only partially true. We do not have free will. Scripture tells us that we are in bondage to sin (Romans 6:16-23) and that we do not have the ability to choose any moral decision available, only that to which we have the will to do, which is evil continually, unless regenerated by the Holy Spirit.

We are radically depraved due to our sinful nature. We are bound by sin, and unless God Himself regenerates us, we will continue to live and lust after our own sinfulness, in rebellion against Him. God is the One who moves to save us in His sovereignty, and according to His will. Without His saving grace and power, we would never choose Him, for our will is in bondage to evil. We are considered free agents, responsible for our sinfulness, and we will be held accountable for our sin unless we are covered by the blood of Christ. God is God, and He is in charge.

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Sola Ministries is hosting a 6 part study on the Holiness of God, an in-depth look at the attributes of God from the Old and New Testaments. This study will be held on Thursday evenings beginning next week (May 12). This study is free, and will be held in Cochrane, AB. If you would like to join us for this study, please contact us at hillcountrychurch@gmail.com

God's sovereignty and politics

The 'already and not yet' nature and reality of the Kingdom of God is something that we need to ponder more often than not as we have been called by Christ to "seek first the Kingdom of God" (Matt. 6:33). This latest round of elections have reminded me of this. Some believe that a conservative majority is the worst possible scenario and our country is going to turn into absolute hell-fire and damnation as Harper has somehow convinced some that he is indeed the anti-Christ. I understand where they are coming from, as I was worried about the NDP forming our government, and Jack Layton would quickly get to work bankrupting our country. I needed to remind myself that God is the One that puts governments in place, and that no matter what was to come, God is in control and He is the One that has ordained the election. Our job as Christians would be to follow the government put in place, to follow all laws, to be obedient citizens and pay our taxes as Christ has taught us. We are to advance the Kingdom here on earth while we have the strength, to proclaim the gospel to the lost, and be in support of one another in our burdens and celebrations. Would our job change with a different government? I think not. As much as I don't like the policies of the NDP, I can't see them taking away the rights of religious freedom, thereby our commission would remain the same.

We need to keep in mind that for most here on earth, this is as close as they are going to get to heaven. For those that are called Christian, this is as close to hell as we're going to get. We can celebrate this fact by not letting local, provincial or national politics stand in the way of that. We are fortunate that we don't experience the persecution that our Christian brothers and sisters face across the world that don't have religious or political freedom that we take for granted. I'm thankful that I live in Canada and have the freedom to preach the gospel without violent persecution by our nation. I'm also thankful that an evangelical Christian can be Prime Minister of our country. I'm thankful that our country now has an evangelical Christian as our Prime Minister for the next 4-5 years.

Last night, God blessed our nation. May we continue to seek the Kingdom until He returns or we are called home.

The New Atheism

Fixed-Point Foundations radio broadcast was talking about a conversation between

Richard Dawkins, author of "The New Atheism" and the host of the show Larry Taunton. The point of Dawkins' book is to overthrow religion in general, and Christianity in particular.

Dawkins likes to put the crux of the debate in terms of Science vs. Religion (fact vs. fiction; rational vs. irrational). What most don't quite pick up is the logical false-dichotomy. If you are a scientist, you don't have to throw Christianity or the truth-claims of Christianity out the door. There are very intelligent and hard-working scientists that are fervent Christians. They actually proclaim that science affirms the truth claims of the Bible better than it affirms the common theories that are out today. You can check out much of the work of these Christian scientists at Answers in Genesis or Institute for Creation Research.

Dawkins believes we attain morality through moral philosophical reasoning...zeitgeist. Somehow, humanity, especially in Europe and America have philosophized the morality that we have today, without any help from Christianity. Dawkins argues that "Those that do get it from religion are deluded." He gives no credit to Christianity for the abolition of slavery, nor does he credit Christianity for women's rights. What are his reasons for this outright denial even though history shows Christianity was at the forefront of both movements? Nothing.

Taunton asked Dawkins, "How do we know that Hitler wasn't right?" His answer was at least consistent. "We don't. Maybe he was right." But unlike others of this age that tries to assert relativism, Dawkins is a rationalist. He does believe there is truth, but instead of Jesus being the way, the truth and the life, the scientific method replaces Jesus. Dawkins is a true believer of atheism, and he's out to seek converts.

Larry Taunton had excellent points, and rather than expounding on them, I've simply taken those and written them here. Thanks to Larry and his radio program for all the insight.

All things flow from our beliefs, purpose, right/wrong, value...have profound implications for our culture. Here are 3 points about the New Atheism.

A) If our foundation of God is crushed, there are four possible options.

1) Moral absolutes are gone, all things are permissible, there can be no right or wrong. Science cannot be sufficient for morality. As Einstein was quoted "Science can make an atomic bomb, but it can't tell us when we can use it."

2) Zeitgeist: cultural mood can be dangerous (Nazi Germany). Surely this isn't the answer.

3) Personal relativism: My truth vs. Your truth...how can we agree on morality if it's individual?

4) Adherence to an external absolute: to do good for the good of all is false and shallow, most people get away with lying and cheating. Without Christ, there is no external absolute.

B) The New Atheism has exposed a failure of the western church to engage in the realm of ideas in the public arena. We are only allowed to engage in ministry designated areas only. If it's true, then it's true for our entire lives, not just Sunday. It's the old atheism re-packaged. *Personal note: We have not prepared our members to think and engage. We have not educated our congregations to be able to "give a reason for our faith". We are generally intellectual neophytes, still suckling as babes while being eaten alive by those that think of themselves as wise.*

C) Romans 1:18-25; Suppress the truth of God's character and existence. *Personal note: We should not be surprised by those that attack Christianity, for they have swallowed the lie. We should be surprised and upset at our own ignorance and laziness when it comes to our understanding of our faith.*

Dawkins is no longer speaking about science, the very thing that got him famous, but is now speaking about things that he has little expertise in, namely theology and philosophy. Most religions are irrational and anti-intellectual. Christianity is not one of those. Christianity is rational and intellectual, and we need to be educated in order to stem the attacks against our truth claims.